Pro basketball head coaches get hired and fired all the time. And as habitués of the sport know, the reasons aren’t always clear. Ideally, they should be; after all, the best basis for tenure is performance borne off measurable objectives. Yet, hoops annals are littered with examples of bench tacticians let go due to seeming whim and fancy.
To be sure, franchise owners do have the right to base their decisions on their — and, just as importantly, on their charges’ — emotional intelligence. In fact, it’s critical, especially when much of success is based as much on nurturing relationships as on mastering Xs and Os. The problem lies when there is a discernible lack thereof on the part of the doer; when underpinnings are perceived as wobbly at best, the second-guessing of choices becomes inevitable.
William Shakespeare once wrote, “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” And he’s right; what is true of the title character in King Henry IV is true of any mentor. It’s why Frank Vogel, just 13 months and change removed from steering the Lakers to a championship, is said to be on the hot seat. It’s why not a few quarters put Billy Donovan in the same position — that is, before the Bulls’ outstanding start to the 2021-22 season. And it’s why the Mercury parted ways with Sandy Brondello, never mind their immediate past Cinderella finish.
When there is no one else to blame for unmet expectations, the head coaches are invariably the first to go. For the most part, the development takes off from the notion that, in a crisis, shaking the tree — any tree — is welcome. Owners aren’t wrong to disrupt the status quo. That said, there needs to be a method to the madness. Else, gains will not last beyond the short term.
Only time will tell if Vogel gets the axe, or if Donovan justifies the reprieve, or if Brondello truly signifies addition by subtraction. Regardless of the outcomes, however, this much is clear: given the need to make up for an inability to deliver, the desperate feel they need to rely on the only constant: change.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.